Taking convenience to new heights, Walmart has expanded its drone delivery service to five new cities.

With the expansion of ultra-fast drone delivery to Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa, Walmart is the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five US states.

Greg Cathey, Senior Vice President of Walmart US Transformation and Innovation says the retailer is pushing the boundaries of convenience to better serve its customers, making shopping faster and easier than ever before.

“This expansion of our drone delivery service marks a significant milestone in that journey,” he said. “As the first retailer to scale drone delivery, Walmart is once again demonstrating its commitment to leveraging technology to enhance our delivery offerings with a focus on speed.”

Next-level convenience

The new drone service will launch at 100 stores, building on the existing operations in Northwest Arkansas and Dallas-Fort Worth. Walmart has partnered with established drone provider Wing, which operates within FAA guidelines, flying their drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) up to a 6-mile aircraft range from the store.

“This is real drone delivery at scale,” said Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing. “People all around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have made drone delivery part of their normal shopping habits over the past year. Now we’re excited to share this ultra-fast delivery experience with millions more people across many more U.S. cities.”

Full speed ahead

Since launching drone delivery in 2021, Walmart has completed more than 150,000 deliveries within minutes. With the expansion, the company is set to make shopping even more convenient for its shoppers – offering thousands of products delivered directly to their door in 30 minutes or less.

Walmart says its customers are using drone delivery for key ingredients they may have forgotten during their weekly grocery trip or for urgent care items, such as OTC cold/flu medicine, baby formula and COVID tests.

Among the most frequently delivered products are:

• Fresh fruit, including bananas, lemons and limes.
• Eggs.
• Ice cream.
• Pet food.

Drone delivery is just one of the many ways Walmart is accelerating convenience by offering faster, more efficient delivery options. It also offers choices like Express Delivery (as soon as 30 minutes), Late-Night Delivery, and InHome Delivery (right to the refrigerator).